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Yes, I know, we are over it as well...i'm becoming an expert at shutter deployment and installation....

Rita is expected to reach us at a Cat 1, possibly a Cat 2. It is now forecasted to go right under the keys, but we are in the cone and any slight jog to the north and we are looking at a direct hit from this lady.....

Definitely will be getting hit with heavy winds, heavy rainfall and hurricane force winds...how strong depends on how close the eye moves north....

The Floridy Keys will get a good hit from this one, unfortunatley they won't dodge this one, even the old time conchs are evacuating....

This is crazy - can't find an available hotel within 300 miles of Houston! We may have to go as far as Dallas.

Kim, do what you must but get out if they call for evacuations...

Rita, a so-called Category 2 storm with 100 mph (166 kph) winds, is moving into the Gulf's warm waters, where it will strengthen in the next few days, the National Hurricane Center said. Rita may reach Category 4 or Category 5, with winds from 131 mph to more than 155 mph, by the time it reaches the Texas coastline this weekend, the center said.

While Rita is forecast to land anywhere from Corpus Christi to Galveston in Texas, it may veer east and strike Louisiana's coast, the center said. The threat to the region devastated by Katrina prompted New Orleans's mayor to halt plans for residents to return and Texas officials to call for some evacuations.

``We are urging all residents from south Texas to Louisiana to keep watch,'' center meteorologist Robbie Berg said.

Rita, the ninth hurricane of the season, was about 50 miles (80 kilometers) south-southwest of Key West, Florida, as of 5 p.m. local time, the center said. The storm is moving west at about 15 mph (24 kph).

Galveston Mayor Lyda Ann Thomas said she may order mandatory evacuations from the city of about 60,000 as soon as tomorrow. Galveston, about 50 miles southeast of Houston, is the site of the worst natural disaster in U.S. history, a hurricane that killed 8,000 to 12,000 in 1900.